Device for filling containers by weight, the device being fitted with an anti-vibration member

ABSTRACT

A device for filling containers by weight, the device comprises: a filler spout carried by a structure and having a delivery orifice; a container support member extending on one side of the filler spout, the container support member being associated with a weight sensor arranged at a level that is higher than the delivery orifice; and a connection arm having a first end fastened to the structure and a second end fastened to the container support member at a level below the weight sensor, the connection arm having two folding portions configured to enable effortless folding about mutually parallel horizontal axes, while providing a connection that is rigid against forces in a horizontal plane.

The present invention relates to a device for filling containers byweight, the device being fitted with an anti-vibration member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A device for filling containers by weight is disclosed in particular indocument EP 1 025 424, which device comprises a filler spout carried bya structure and having a delivery orifice below which the containers aresupported by a container support member. The container support member isconnected to a weight sensor comprising both an elastically deformablebar having one end rigidly fastened to the structure and an opposite endthat is cantilevered out, and a sensing element associated with theelastically deformable bar to measure its deformation.

In order to protect the weight sensor against splashes of the fluid tobe packaged or of a fluid for cleaning the filler spout, filler deviceshave been made in which the weight sensor is arranged at a level that ishigher than the delivery orifice. Nevertheless, under suchcircumstances, it is necessary to use an elongate support member thatextends along one side of the filler spout with a top end connected tothe cantilevered end of the elastically deformable bar and with acontainer- holding portion arranged below the delivery orifice.

It has then been found that when the filler device is mounted on amovable structure, for example a rotary structure of a filler carousel,the support member tends to vibrate when a container is put into place,thereby disturbing the measurement of the weight sensor, such that itbecomes necessary to wait for the device to stabilize before it ispossible to proceed with filling.

This waiting time considerably reduces the throughput rate at whichcontainers can be filled.

In order to mitigate that drawback, proposals have been made toassociate the support member with connection arms that are connected byball bearings so as to form a hinged parallelogram. Nevertheless, inorder to ensure that the resulting hinged parallelogram does not giverise to interfering forces on the weight sensor, it is necessary to usehigh-precision ball bearings that are very expensive and very sensitiveto being dirtied by the fluids for packaging or by the fluids forcleaning the filler spouts.

Object of the Invention

An object of the invention is to propose a device for filling containersby weight, the device being fitted with an anti-vibration member ofstructure that is simple and relatively insensitive to pollution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve this object, the invention provides a device forfilling containers by weight, the device comprising: a filler spoutcarried by a structure and having a delivery orifice; a containersupport member extending on one side of the filler spout, the containersupport member being associated with a weight sensor arranged at a levelthat is higher than the delivery orifice, and including a receptacleholder portion arranged below the delivery orifice; and a connection armhaving a first end fastened to the structure and a second end fastenedto the container support member at a level below the weight sensor, theconnection arm including at least one folding portion configured toenable effortless folding about a horizontal axis while providing aconnection that is rigid against forces in a horizontal plane.

It has been found that because of the small movements of the containersupport member during filling (through a few tenths of a millimeter),there is no need to associate the container support member with a hingedparallelogram, and that a connection with a connection arm having asingle folding portion suffices for allowing movement to take placevertically without stressing the support member and while also providingrapid damping of vibration.

In an advantageous version of the invention, the connection arm has twoportions for effortless folding about two mutually parallel horizontalaxes. This facilitates vertical movement of the container supportmember.

In an advantageous aspect of the invention, the connection arm isarranged at the level of the container-holding portion, and when thestructure is rotary, the connection arm preferably extends radiallyrelative to a path traveled by the containers during filling. Thisimproves resistance to any lateral force exerted by a container while itis being put into place.

In another advantageous aspect of the invention, the support memberincludes a support plate connected to the weight sensor by a rod, andthe connection arm is arranged at the level of the support plate. Thisprovision has been found to be more advantageous with large containers.

In yet another advantageous aspect of the invention, the containersupport member comprises a rod engaged in a support tube carried by thestructure, and the first end of the connection arm is rigidly connectedto the support tube by a spacer. This provides a device that is verycompact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear on readingthe following description of two particular and non-limiting embodimentsof the invention.

Reference is made to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary section view of a first embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an outline II in

FIG. 1, drawn on a larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a section view analogous to the view of FIG. 1, showing asecond embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic view of a variant of thefirst embodiment.

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this first embodiment, the devicecomprises in conventional manner a series of filler spouts 1, only oneof which is shown in FIG. 1, and its structure is not shown in detail.The filler spouts are carried by a structure represented herein by arotary platform 2 having two turntables 3 and 4 held spaced apart fromeach other by spacers 5.

Each filler spout 1 is associated with a weight sensor 6 having a base 7fastened to the turntable 3 and made integrally with an elasticallydeformable bar 8 having one end 9 rigidly fastened to the structure 2via the base 7 and an opposite end 10 that is cantilevered out. Theweight sensor also includes a sensing element, a strain gauge 11 in thisexample, that is associated with the elastically deformable bar 8 inorder to measure its deformation.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the weight sensor 6 isassociated with a container-support member comprising a rod 12 having atop end connected by a screw 13 to a plate 14 that is fastened to thecantilevered end 10 of the bar 8. The head of the screw 13 bears againstthe plate 14 via an annular ring 15.

The rod 12 is mounted to slide in a support tube 16 having a shoulder 17that bears against the bottom face of the turntable 4. At its top end,the support tube 16 has a thread 18 with a nut 19 mounted thereon forlocking the support tube 16 to the rotary structure 2. At its bottomend, the support tube 16 carries one end of a spacer 20 having itsopposite end acting as an anchor point for a connection arm 21 connectedto a block 22 that is fastened to the support rod 12 and that carries inconventional manner jaws 23 for holding a container 24 standing on asupport plate 25 that is fastened to the bottom end of the support rod12. In known manner, the jaws 23 are urged towards each other by aspring 26 and they are opened under the control of a wheel 26 co-operating with a cam (not shown).

The connection arm 21 in this example is formed by ahorizontally-extending strip of plastics material. As can be seen betterin FIG. 2, the strip 21 has two V-shaped grooves 28 extending parallelto each other and defining folding zones 37. In practice, the thicknessof the residual material at the tips of the grooves 28 is a few tenthsof a millimeter, thus making it possible firstly for the strip to foldeffortlessly about the parallel horizontal axes 38 that coincide withthe tips of the grooves 28, and secondly to provide a connection that isrigid against forces in a horizontal plane. In the example shown, inwhich the filler spouts 1 are mounted on a rotary platform, theconnection arms 21 extend radially relative to a trajectory of acontainer as represented in FIG. 2 by a bold arrow. The connection arm21 is preferably connected to the spacer 20 by an interfittingconnection comprising a tenon 29 made on the spacer 20 and a mortise 30made in the strip 21. Similarly, the strip 21 is connected to the block22 by an interfitting connection comprising a tenon 31 made on the block22 and a mortise 32 made in the strip 21.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the jaws 23 for holding the container 24extend at a level below the delivery orifice 33 of the filler spout 1,while the weight sensor 6 is arranged at a level that is higher than thedelivery orifice 33.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a structure that is generallyanalogous to the first embodiment. Parts that are identical are giventhe same numerical references in FIG. 3, and these parts are notdescribed again.

In this embodiment, the support rod 12 has a plate 34 at its top endwith one end of the plate fastened to the support rod 12 and itsopposite end cantilevered out over the cantilevered end 10 of thedeformable bar 8. The plate 34 carries a screw 35 on its bottom face,with the head of the screw bearing against the end 10 of the deformablebar 8.

At its bottom end, the support tube 16 in this embodiment is connectedto a U-shaped spacer 36 and the connection arm 31 extends between thebottom branch of the spacer 36 and the support plate 25 so as to providea connection between the support rod 12 and the structure of the machineat the support plate 25.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described andvariants may be made thereto without going beyond the ambit of theinvention as defined by the claims.

In particular, although the invention is described with reference to astrip 21 in which fold lines are defined by grooves, it is possible tomake the connection arm 21 in the form of a strip made up of a pluralityof portions that are connected together by a tape of fabric or by a filmof plastics material, which tape or film may be clamped between piecesof the plate or embedded in mutually adjacent blocks of resin, therebydefining lines for effortless folding.

Although the invention is shown with support members comprising supportplates, the invention could equally well be performed by suspending thecontainers from the neck.

Although the support rod 12 in the two embodiments shown is suspended toa cantilevered end of an elastically deformable bar 8, the inventioncould also be implemented with a rocker assembly, as shown inabove-mentioned document EP 1 025 424.

Although mounting the rod 12 free relative to the bar, as in both of theabove-described embodiments, is particularly advantageous for avoidinginterfering twisting, it is possible for the weight sensor 6 to beimplemented as a constant-moment gauge and to provide rigid fastening ofthe top end of the rod 12 to the cantilevered end 10 of the bar 8. Thisvariant is shown in FIG. 4, in which the rod 12 is rigidly fastened tothe free end of the plate 14 secured to the cantilevered end 10 of thebar 8. The bar 8 behaves like a deformable parallelogram, with theweight of the container received on the support plate being transmittedin full to the gauge and the connection arm serves to damp vibrationquickly.

It is also possible to replace the support tube 10 by a bracket fastenedto one of the turntables of the platform 2, or even to both of itsturntables.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for filling containers by weight, thedevice comprising: a filler spout carried by a structure and having adelivery orifice; and a container support member extending on one sideof the filler spout, the container support member being associated witha weight sensor arranged at a level that is higher than the deliveryorifice, and including a receptacle holder portion arranged below thedelivery orifice, wherein the device includes a connection arm having afirst end fastened to the structure and a second end fastened to thecontainer support member at a level below the weight sensor, and whereinthe connection arm includes at least one folding portion configured toenable effortless folding about a horizontal axis while providing aconnection that is rigid against forces in a horizontal plane.
 2. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein the connection arm has two portionsfor effortless folding about two mutually parallel horizontal axes.
 3. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein the connection arm is arranged atthe level of the container-holding portion.
 4. A device according toclaim 1, wherein the connection arm comprises a strip of plasticsmaterial and the folding portion is defined by a V-groove.
 5. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the structure is rotary, and theconnection arm extends radially relative to a path traveled by thecontainers during filling.
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein thesupport member includes a support plate connected to the weight sensorby a rod, and the connection arm is arranged at the level of the supportplate.
 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the container supportmember is merely placed on the weight sensor.
 8. A device according toclaim 1, wherein the container support member comprises a rod engaged ina support tube carried by the structure, and the first end of theconnection arm is rigidly connected to the support tube by a spacer. 9.A device according to claim 1, wherein the weight sensor comprises: anelastically deformable bar having one end rigidly fastened to thestructure and an opposite end that is cantilevered out, together with asensing element associated with the elastically deformable bar tomeasure its deformation, and wherein the container support member has atop end connected to the cantilevered end of the elastically deformablebar.